Flynn, Trump lawyers no longer sharing information on Mueller probe

A lawyer for former national security adviser Michael Flynn has told President Donald Trump’s legal team that they are no longer communicating with them about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference.
Time

Michael Flynn, then National Security Adviser to President Trump, attends a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the East Room of the White House on Feb 10, 2017.(Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo, European Pressphoto Agency)

Lawyers for Michael Flynn have informed President Trump's legal team that they can no longer share information about special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian election interference, a possible sign that Trump's former national security adviser is cooperating with federal investigators.

A Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation, confirmed that Flynn's lawyers have stopped sharing information with Trump's team, but described the move as routine and said that it would not affect the president.

The New York Times, which first reported the development on Thursday, said the cessation in contact could signal a move by Flynn to cooperate with the Russia investigation or negotiate a deal for himself.

Trump's outside lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said the move could be a signal Flynn and his attorneys are pursuing a plea deal with Mueller.

"This development did not catch us by surprise at all. In all probability, they are entering into plea discussions," Sekulow told USA TODAY. "We do not interpret this development as being adverse to the president at all."

Until the arrangement was discontinued this week, Flynn and Trump's legal teams had been communicating about the case.

Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates pleaded not guilty to charges this month that they secretly worked on behalf of pro-Russian factions in Ukraine, then laundered millions of dollars in profits through foreign bank accounts. In another case, ex-Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to a charge that he lied to FBI agents about his contacts with a professor he believed "had substantial connections to Russian government officials" during the campaign.

Such arrangements are not uncommon for defense lawyers during investigations, but must be discontinued when that would pose a potential conflict of interest. It is considered unethical for lawyers to work together when one client is cooperating with prosecutors and another is still under investigation.

While the ending of such an agreement does not automatically mean a client – Flynn in this case – is in fact cooperating with Mueller, it could also mean the opening of negotiations with prosecutors that could in turn fall apart.

Flynn resigned as national security adviser in February after White House officials concluded that he had misled them about the nature of his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the transition period.

Flynn was facing a Justice Department investigation over his foreign business dealings even before Mueller was appointed as special counsel in May to investigate potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Mueller has since taken over that investigation.

Robert Kelner, a lawyer for Flynn, did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.